13 Land and Water Speed Records

According to the World Sailing Speed Record Council, the fastest long-distance sailing ship is the Orange II, a 125-foot-long catamaran. Piloted by French yachtsman Bruno Peyron, the crew of the Orange II set the record on a transatlantic trip in July 2006, crossing the Atlantic at an average speed of 28 knots (about 32 miles per hour) and completed the trip in 4 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes, and 54 seconds.

Peyron and the Orange II also own the round-the-world sailing record set on March 16, 2005. They circled the globe (27,000 nautical miles) in 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes, with an average speed of 17.89 knots (around 20 miles per hour).